Before founding her own law firm in Dallas, Texas, in 2001, Karen K. Suhre worked for more than 18 years as an associate and then a partner at a prominent Dallas firm. During this time, she focused her practice on executive compensation and employee benefits, and she now applies this experience in her representation of employers, individual executives and plan fiduciaries throughout Texas. Ms. Suhre provides legal counsel in areas including the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), tax-qualified retirement plans including pension plans, 401(k) plans and ESOPs, health and welfare plans, severance agreements, supplemental executive retirement plans, other executive compensation arrangements, and cafeteria plans.

After receiving a bachelor's degree from Southern Illinois University in 1979, Ms. Suhre attended the University of Illinois College of Law and was awarded a Juris Doctor magna cum laude in 1982. While in law school, she served on the University of Illinois Law Review, and upon graduation, she was named to the Order of the Coif. Ms. Suhre is admitted to practice in Texas.

Ms. Suhre is currently chair of the Employee Benefit Plans and Other Compensation Arrangements Group in the Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law of the American Bar Association, and recently chaired the Qualified Plans committee of that group. She is a former chair of the Employee Benefits/Executive Compensation Section of the Dallas Bar Association. Her fellow professionals hold her in high regard, as attested to by her receipt of an AV* 5.0/5.0 peer review rating through Martindale-Hubbell. Ms. Suhre has also been selected for inclusion in the list of The Best Lawyers in America every year since 1999, and has been listed in D Magazine's "Best Lawyers in Dallas" for 2014-2018. Ms. Suhre is also a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel.

*AV®, BV®, AV Preeminent® and BV Distinguished® are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings fall into two categories – legal ability and general practice standards.

About Karen Suhre

Fellows of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel are selected by the College's Board of Governors from among employee benefits attorneys nominated for that honor and recommended for consideration by the Board's Membership Committee after considering the recommendations of regional screening committees. Fellows have a minimum of 20 years experience. Selection as a Fellow reflects the Board's judgment that a nominee has made significant contributions to the advancement of the employee benefits field., Fellow, American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, 2018

Current Chair, American Bar Association, Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Employee Benefits Group

Scholarly Lectures/Writings:

Law review article addressing the protection of retirement plan beneficiaries in bankruptcy in light of U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Clark v. Rameker that "inherited IRAs" are not exempt from creditors under federal bankruptcy law. The article explores other legal bases for exempting inherited IRAs and other inherited retirement accounts from creditors, including ERISA, state law exemptions and use of trust funds as beneficiaries., Co-author, Bankruptcy Protection of Retirement Plan Beneficiaries After Clark v. Rameker, ABA Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Journal, 2015

Karen K. Suhre:

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